Toilet Tissue Holder for Pedestal Sinks

ABSTRACT

A holder for a toilet tissue roll includes two support fixtures that engage a multi-plane surface such as a contoured surface of a pedestal sink. The holder includes first and second fixtures that attach to two planes of a pedestal sink, respective hook elements which extend out from the fixtures, and a support spindle that is simply supported from the hook elements. A roll of toilet tissue is penetrated by the support spindle, and is able to rotate on the support spindle to dispense toilet tissue. An outer spindle sleeve can be placed between the roll and the support spindle. A stop ring can be placed on the support spindle to prevent dislodgement of the spindle from the hook elements even if the support spindle is at an inclination.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/928,585, filed May 10, 2007.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to toilet tissue holders, particularly to spindle-type holders that allow a tissue roll to rotate to dispense toilet tissue.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,869 discloses a suction cup holder for a toilet tissue roll. The suction cup holder supports a toilet tissue roll by two suction cups being adhered to a single plane, such as to a wall.

The present inventor has recognized that it would be advantageous to provide a toilet tissue holder that could be mounted to other surfaces present in a bathroom, particularly when space and room in the bathroom is limited.

The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a holder for supporting a spindle for a roll that can be supported from two different planes. The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to support an object such as a spindle for a roll, on a contoured surface such as on the side surface of a pedestal sink.

The present inventor has recognized that in a small bathroom or powder room there is unused room space or volume beneath the curvature or overhang of a pedestal sink.

The present inventor has recognized that the heretofore known toilet tissue holders are ineffective to mount within this space because a screw connection would damage the ceramic or porcelain material of the pedestal sink and the attachment locations would be on different planes due to the contour of the lower portions of the pedestal sink.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a support arrangement for mounting an object that includes two support points that are not on the same plane. Particularly, the present invention discloses a support for a spindle to hold a roll, such as for toilet tissue, which includes two support fixtures that engage a multi-plane surface such as a contoured surface of a pedestal sink.

The present invention includes a support and spindle arrangement for holding toilet tissue that includes first and second fixtures that attach to two planes of a pedestal sink, respective hook elements which extend out from the fixtures, and a support spindle that is simply supported from the hook elements. A roll of toilet tissue is penetrated by the support spindle, and is able to rotate on the support spindle to dispense toilet tissue. An outer spindle sleeve can be placed between the roll and the support spindle.

An elastomeric washer or o-ring can be stretched open and fit over one or more ends or the support spindle of the spindle sleeve to prevent dislodgement of the support spindle from the hook elements, even if the support spindle is mounted by the hook elements at an angle to horizontal.

Instead of a washer or o-ring, stopper caps commercially sold as ‘push nut hubs’ can be attached to one or more of the ends of the support spindle, making contact with the hooks if the support spindle slides too far in an axial direction.

The invention provides a support for a toilet tissue spindle. The support includes a first fixture configured to attach to a first plane and a second fixture, independent of the first fixture, and configured to attach to a second plane different than the first plane. A first engagement element extends from the first fixture. A second engagement element extends from the second fixture. A support spindle is supported from the first and second engagement elements.

The first and second fixtures can comprise suction cups or concave receivers containing adhesive. Other methods of attaching the fixtures are encompassed by the invention.

The first and second engagement elements advantageously comprise hooks and the support spindle is simply supported between the hooks.

A spindle sleeve can be fit over the support spindle. The spindle sleeve can be decorative and also assist in preventing dislodgment of the support spindle from the hooks.

A stop element can be engaged to the support spindle and abut at least one of the engagement elements to prevent the support spindle from axial movement with respect to the engagement element.

The present invention is particularly suited for use in powder rooms or small bathrooms where locating a toilet tissue holder on an adjacent wall is problematic.

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, the claims and from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art pedestal sink;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the pedestal sink of FIG. 1 incorporating a roll holder of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the roll holder of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the roll holder of FIG. 2 at a different position on the pedestal sink;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a second embodiment of the roll holder of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the roll holder of FIG. 6 with the engaging elements removed and a cross section of the stoppers; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 5-5 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated.

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art pedestal sink 10 having a basin 12 and a column 14. The column 14 includes a base 16 resting on, or attached to a room floor 18. The basin 12 includes a back edge 20 typically pressed against or attached to a room wall 22.

FIG. 2 illustrates the pedestal sink of FIG. 1 having a first embodiment roll holder 30 of the present invention affixed thereto and supporting a roll 34 of toilet tissue. The sink 10 is arranged in close proximity to a toilet 35. As can be seen in FIG. 2 the support 30 and roll 34 advantageously can fit beneath an overhang limit of the basin 12 delineated by a dashed line 38. The invention allows the space 40 beneath the basin 12 and adjacent the column 14 to be utilized for holding the toilet tissue roll 34. Many heretofore known toilet tissue rolls would by necessity occupy otherwise usable space in the bathroom or powder room. Before the invention, the space 40 beneath the basin 12 was many times unusable because of the footprint of the basin 12 which prevented practical use of the space 40.

The basin 12 typically includes a frusto-conical, concave or rounded sidewall 44. The basin 12 is also many times composed of brittle porcelain or ceramic material.

FIG. 3 illustrates the holder 30 in more detail. The holder 30 includes a first support 50 and a second support 51. The supports 50, 51 are identically configured and only the first support 50 will be described in detail. The first support 50 includes a first fixture 52 and a second support 51 includes a second fixture 54. The fixtures 52, 54 are attached to the basin sidewall 44.

The first support 50 includes a lug 56 that is pivotally connected to a hook 58. The hook 58 can be pivoted about a pin attachment point 60 to be positioned to hang substantially vertically. The lug 56 is adhesively attached, attached by a fastener, or otherwise attached to the fixture 52. The fixture 52 can be a suction cup attachment to engage the sidewall 44 of the basin 12 or can be a receptacle for receiving a supply of adhesive, such as silicone adhesive. Although a concave receptacle 52 for receiving the adhesive is preferred, conceivably a flat fixture 52 could be used and adhesively secured to the sidewall 44.

A support spindle 66 is simply supported on the hooks 58 of the first and second supports 50, 51. The spindle 66 has a length sufficient to extend outwardly past both hooks 58 to be simply supported on the hooks 58. The spindle 66 can be a hollow rod or a solid rod, and can be composed of any suitable material such as metal, plastic or wood. A spindle sleeve 70 can be fit over the support spindle 66, by the spindle 66 being inserted through the spindle sleeve 70. The spindle sleeve 70 can add a decorative touch to the holder 30 by being of a different material, texture, or color than the spindle 66. Furthermore, because the spindle sleeve 70 hangs below the spindle 66, it can be located between the hooks 58 and can act as an abutment assisting in the prevention of the spindle 66 from axially moving past, and becoming dislodged from, the hooks 58.

As a further enhancement to the invention, a rubber washer or elastomeric o-ring 76 can be stretched open and fit over the spindle 66 at one or both ends thereof which further prevents axial movement of the spindle 66 to the extent that the spindle 66 could fall from the hooks 58. As shown in FIG. 3, the spindle 66 is set at an inclination angle “B” from horizontal “H” wherein the hook 58 of the first support 50 is at a higher elevation then the hook 58 of the second support 51. Because of the o-ring 76, which tightly grips the spindle 66 and abuts the hook 58 of the second support 51, the spindle 66 cannot be axially displaced to the left which prevents the upper part of the spindle from passing by the upper hook 58 to become dislodged from the hooks 58.

Instead of stopping the axial movement of the spindle with o-rings 76, it could be stopped with stopper caps 90 commercially referred to as ‘push nut hubs.’ The inside layer 92 can be made of metal or other material such as plastic. As can be seen in FIG. 7, the end of the support spindle 66 is inserted into the inside layer 92 of the stopper cap 90 by force, wherein teeth 94 make contact with and grip the spindle 66. An outer layer 96 covers the inner layer 92 of the stopper cap 90 and is used to make the stopper cap 90 more aesthetically pleasing. For example, the outer layer 96 could be made of white plastic if the roll holder is white in color.

FIG. 8 shows the interior of the stopper cap 90 along line 5-5, and shows the inner layer 92 and teeth 94 covered by outer layer 96.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fixture 54 is attached to the sidewall 44 by a quantity of silicone or other composition adhesive 80 that is filled into the volume 82 provided by each of the concave fixtures 52, 54 and adhered to the sidewall 44.

FIG. 5 illustrates another important aspect of the invention. The fixtures 52, 54 of the first support 50 and the second support 51 respectively are independent and can be affixed to the sidewall 44 in different planes. These planes are designated by the normal vectors 52 a, 54 a which are each perpendicular to the plane of attachment of the respective fixtures 52, 54 to the contoured sidewall 44. The vectors 52 a, 54 a are not parallel in space as per the prior art roll holders, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,869, but are skewed. The independent supports 50, 51 can allow the holder 30 to be mounted to a variety of sinks and at a variety of positions and orientations on any given sink.

The use of independent supports 50, 51 that can be attached to different planes presented by a contoured sidewall of a pedestal sink, and the use of adhesive receptacles or suction cups to secure the supports 50, 51 to the material of a conventional pedestal sink allows the otherwise wasted room space below the basin of a pedestal sink to be used for holding toilet tissue. In small washrooms and powder rooms the efficient use of space is essential because of the need for persons to maneuver in close quarters. This is particularly true for people with reduced maneuverability.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. 

1. A support for a toilet tissue spindle comprising: a first fixture configured to attach to a first plane; a second fixture independent of said first fixture and configured to attach to a second plane different than said first plane; a first engagement element extending from said first fixture; a second engagement element extending from said second fixture; and a support spindle supported from said first and second engagement elements.
 2. The support according to claim 1, wherein said first and second fixtures comprise suction cups.
 3. The support according to claim 1, wherein said first and second fixtures comprise concave receivers containing adhesive.
 4. The support according to claim 1, wherein said first and second engagement elements comprise hooks and said support spindle is simply supported between said hooks.
 5. The support according to claim 1, further comprising a spindle sleeve that is fit over said support spindle.
 6. The support according to claim 1, further comprising a stop element engaged to said support spindle and abutting at least one of said engagement elements to prevent said support spindle from axial movement with respect to said engagement element.
 7. The support according to claim 6, wherein said stop element comprises a ring around said support spindle.
 8. The support according to claim 6, wherein said stop element comprises stopper caps on the ends of said support spindle. 